Since moving to my new town I've been looking at church websites online and praying about where I should visit my first Sunday here. While looking for a church I happened to find a nation-wide reformed university fellowship which has a local meeting near where I'll be living. Listening to the online messages and music I really felt like I should check it out (though hesitant to join a college group where everyone would be younger than me). All day I wrestled with whether or not I should go to the Wednesday night study. As I maneuvered through the crazy university campus (or "mini-city) I figured if I got lost maybe I'd just be so late I wouldn't have to go. I tend to like my hermit status, but know God is often nudging me to reach out.
I arrived right on time and walked right into the campus intern who had e-mailed back and forth with me. They sing old hymns with updated tunes and they included some of my most favorites. As the sounds of the violin and guitars intertwined I suddenly felt so at home even though I knew no one in the room. And this was just the worship! Another reason I almost didn't go was the semester topic. They normally go through a book of the Bible, but wouldn't you know that they were going to pause it and do a topical study on Dating, Sex & Marriage! I mean growing up in chuch WHAT SERMON HAVEN'T I heard on this? I had visions of little 18 year-olds jumping for joy.
Once again I was surprised and God used the message to hit me deep inside. As I've moved out on my own I've had to search the Scriptures more for myself in the last few years. In the religious movement in which we were involved I had a full stack of verses for each subject and 13-step answers. However, I realize that it was often taken out of context or out of the spirit of the passage. For almost 7 years I was constantly being taught in this movement that you should delay dating/relationships/marriage as long as possible (if ever).
But as we were searching the Scriptures and I was referring back to other sermons I've studied recently, I'm not sure that's God's design. It appears from Genesis that God's design was for the man and woman to be together. Before the Fall, the time God said it was "not good" was when the man was alone. What we have now is a generation jaded with the idea after seeing little hope even in a Christian marriage.
Ok, so this is not new to most people, but it seems new to me. There was something so deep in the message that it's hard to describe. What also hit me was how I need to reach out in a variety of relationships. Fellowship in many aspects is a theme of the Scripture.
Maybe you just had to be there....
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2 comments:
Mel - it's so awesome hearing your stories of adapting to student life AGAIN. :) Sounds like a really neat group, too.
Oh, and don't get me started on my opinion of those positions re: marraige/dating/courtship. UGH. (Did I ever tell you about the time I went on a rant about the separate dinner tables while in the presence of John Clay Burnett? You should have seen his eyebrows...)
Yes...student life again (something in the 'blp matrix we also missed out on). Way to go on the rant! No you never told me about it.
The only bad thing about this city is the lack of good thrift or consignment stores!
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